Closure cap for the bowls of smoking pipes



Sept. 11, 1962 A. c. KOENIGSAMEN 3,053,260

CLOSURE CAP FOR THE BOWLS OF SMOKING PIPES Filed Feb. 9, 1961 V II] II INVENTOR ATTORNE United States Patent 1 3,053,260 CLOSURE CAP FOR THE BOWLS 0F SMOKING PIPES Arthur C. Koenigsamen, Richmond Hill, N.Y., assignor to S. M. Frank & Co., Inc., New York, N.Y., a corporation of New York Filed Feb. 9, 1961, Ser. No. 88,221 2 Claims. (Cl. 131-177) This invention relates to caps or covers for the bowls of smoking pipes, and it is one of the objects of the invention to provide an improved type of cap or cover and also a novel means for retaining the same in properly seated position on the top of a pipe bowl.

It is an object of the invention to provide a cap or cover having means by which the tobacco contents of the pipe bowl can be tamped down Without requiring removal of the cap or cover from the top of the bowl and by the utilization of a tamping element provided as a part of the cap or cover.

It is an object of the invention to provide magnetic means by which a cap or cover composed in whole or in part of magnetically-attractive material is magnetically attracted by said magnetic means to thereby cause the cap or cover to be properly and securely seated on the top of the pipe bowl.

It is an object of the invention to provide a cap or cover having retaining means by which the cap or cover is mounted on and retained upon the top of a pipe bowl in such a manner that no parts of the cap or cover are required to enter into the bowl to mount the cap or cover thereon.

It is an object of the invention to provide a cap or cover with a tamping disk resiliently attached to an outer ring, with such ring being magnetically attracted to the top of the pipe bowl.

With these and other objects to be hereinafter set forth in view, I have devised the arrangement of parts to be described and more particularly pointed out in the claims appended hereto.

In the accompanying drawing, wherein an illustrative embodiment of the invention is disclosed,

FIG. 1 is a top plan view of a cover or cap for the bowl of a smoking pipe, as made in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a similar view, with the spiral spring omitted to more clearly disclose the construction of the other parts of the device;

FIG. 3 is a sectional view, on a slightly enlarged scale, taken substantially on the line 3--3 of FIG. 1, looking in the direction of the arrows;

FIG. 4 is a side elevational view of the cap or cover;

FIG. 5 is a top plan view of a smoking pipe for which the improved cap or cover is especially adapted;

FIG. 6 is a side elevational view of the button and its attached tamping disk, and

FIG. 7 is a top plan view of the tamping disk.

Referring to the drawing, 1 indicates generally the outer member of the cap or cover, the same being in the form of an annular hollow ring. The ring is composed of an annular upper plate 2 having an inturned peripheral flange 3 which extends under an out-turned flange 4 provided on the edge of the annular lower plate 5. The two plates 2 and 5, fitted together as above explained, and as clearly seen in FIG. 3, provide an annular channel or chamber 6 between them and into which one end 7 of a spiral spring 8 extends. The opposite end of the spiral spring 8 is engaged with a button generally indicated at 9, which button is composed of a rounded head or fingerpiece fitted into a cup-shaped rece tacle 11. This arrangement is such that the button 9 is centrally and resiliently mounted within the ring 1 and is supported in 3,053,260. C Patented Sept. 11, 1962 spaced relation thereto solely by means of the spring 8.

Provided on the lower part of the cup-shaped receptacle 11 is an annular flange 15 which is out-turned, as shown at 12, to thereby maintain an apertured tamping disk 13 between it and a shoulder '14 provided on the flange 15. By this arrangement, the disk 13 constitutes a part of the button 9 and is supported and carried by it. The aper tures in the disk 13 are shown at 20 and the central opening through which the flange 15 extends is shown at 22. In the normal position of the disk 13, as seen in FIG. 3, the lower face of the disk is located substantially in the same plane as the under face of the bottom plate -5 of the ring 1.

A smoking pipe for which the cover or cap is particularly adapted, is shown in FIG. 5, with parts thereof shown in enlarged form in FIG. 3. The pipe may generally be of conventional form and it is thus provided with the bowl 16 and the conventional integral stummel 17 extending therefrom. Mounted in the top portion of the bowl, and at diametrically opposite points on the bowl, is a pair of permanent magnets indicated at 18. While two of these magnets are shown, this number may be increased, if desired or required. Also While this type of pipe construction is particularly useful for use in connection with the improved cap or cover herein described, it will be apparent that it can be used with other types.

All of the ring 1, but at least the lower plate 5 thereof, is composed of a metal of a magnetically-attractive nature, so that as a result, when the cap or cover is rested on top of the bowl 16 of the pipe, the magnets 18 fitted in the bowl as above described and having their upper surfaces exposed in the top surface of the bowl, will magnetically attract the ring and thus firmly magnetically attach the cap or cover in properly seated position on the top of the bowl substantially as shown in FIG. 3.

When the cover or cap is fitted on top of the bowl as above described, it will serve to provide the necessary wind protection such as is afiorded by various other types of caps. The apertures 20 in the disk 13 and the spacing between the convolutions of the spiral spring 8 permit air to reach the tobacco contents 21 of the pipe so that proper draw is attained.

The springy or resilient mounting of the central button 9 and the tamping disk 13 thereon, and the sole support of these elements by the spring 8 is such as to permit the tobacco 21 to be tamped down when ever desired without requiring the removal of the cap or cover from the top of the bowl. The pressure of a finger on top of the head 10 of the button will cause the button and the disk 13 carried by it to be forced downwardly, substantially as shown in dotted lines in FIG. 4, to cause the disk 13 to be brought into contact with the tobacco 21 to tamp down or depress the same to the extent desired. Upon release of finger pressure on the head 10 of the button 9, the button and disk 13 will be raised by the spring 8 to the elevated position above the top of the tobacco 21 to the position substantially as shown in FIG. 3.

Having thus described a single embodiment of the invention, it is obvious that the same is not to be restricted thereto, but is broad enough to cover all structures coming within the scope of the annexed claims.

What I claim is:

1. In combination, a smoking pipe having an upwardly opening bowl having a planar upper edge, magnet means embedded in said bowl in coplanar relation with the upper edge thereof, and a combined protective cover-andt-amping cap assembly comprising a support ring including a lower, magnetically attractive, planar plate removably retained on said upper edge of said bowl by said embedded magnet means and positioned entirely above said upper edge, a normally planar coil spring secured at one end to 3 4 the inner periphery of said ring above said lower plate, means comprises a pair of magnet elements disposed at a finger plate secured to the other end of said coil spring opposite sides of said bowl edge.

and normally supported thereby above said lower plate,

and a perforated tamping disk secured to said finger piece References cued m the file of thls patent below said coil spring and in substantially the plane of 5 UNITED STATES PATENTS said lower plate whereby the entire bowl can be com- 547,616 Percy Oct. 8, 1895 pletely filled with tobacco and the protective cover-and- 1 1,016,792 Speirs Feb. 6, 191-2 tamping plate can be displaced off the upper edge of said 1,274,904 Ledig Aug. 6, 1918 bowl in a horizontal plane. 2, 7, 82 Butler -Feb. 14, 1939 2. The combination of claim 1 wherein said magnet 10 2,761,717 M nlke Sept. 4, 1956 

